CAMPAIGN: Putting up candidates

It is now almost 16 months since Make A Noise 4 Bedlington was formed following the immense support of Bedlingtonians at our first rally.

During this time MAN4B has worked tirelessly in public and behind the scenes to bring the needs of Bedlington to the forefront of discussions at town and county level.

It has become apparent to us that many Bedlington folk feel that the town has been let down by the political system whereby county councillors appear to represent their party first and the electorate second.

Whilst we acknowledge that our current county council representatives have done some sterling work, they are bound by party loyalty.

Our committee met on Wednesday, August 24 to discuss how best we could ensure that Bedlington representatives on Northumberland County Council put Bedlington first. The outcome was that the only way we can do this is to have independent Bedlington representatives.

I am, therefore, delighted to tell you that a number of members of MAN4B will be standing as candidates in the local authority elections in May 2017. As we are not affiliated to any political party, these candidates, should they be elected, will not be bound by any party whip and will truly put Bedlington first.

We are in the early stages of this process and are unable to provide further details. We are discussing who the candidates should be and which wards they will contest.

However, in the interest of open and honest communication between the people of Bedlington and your representatives, which will be a key part of our candidates’ agenda, we wanted to tell you our plans.

Over the coming months we will be sharing with you who the candidates will be and their aims, and asking for your input on issues.